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Cancer agency struggles to find replacement for controversial oncologist in Prince George

Dr. Suresh Katakkar has denied findings by the BC Cancer Agency that he misdiagnosed or used incorrect methods to treat dozens of cancer patients while he was employed in Prince George as a medical oncologist. He said in an email that the matter is in the hands of legal counsel and that he is innocent.

When the star recruit of Prince George’s state-of-the-art cancer centre quit amid controversy over patient care last June, it left the facility with only one full-time specialist in a critical cancer treatment area.

Dr. Suresh Katakkar’s sudden departure meant cancer patients in need of a specialist’s care are split between the one medical oncologist on staff and those temporarily dispatched to the region.

In some cases, the shortage has meant patients must consult with doctors located elsewhere in the province via video-conferencing technology.

A medical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Dr. Max Coppes, president of the BC Cancer Agency, said recruitment efforts are continuing in an effort to fill the Prince George position, and other vacancies at cancer centres elsewhere in the province, including Kelowna.

“We have been heavily recruiting not just for that position but other positions as well,” he said, noting, “medical oncologist is a hard specialty.

“There is not an abundance of medical oncologists. It is an increasingly difficult area to recruit in and recruit for.”

In B.C., the cancer agency employs the full-time equivalence of 86 oncologists, the majority of whom are located in Vancouver.

But Coppes said the continuing search to replace Katakkar does not mean patient care has suffered in the north.

In addition to specialty oncologists on staff or on locum, the region is served by three radiation specialists, three family doctors who specialize in the area, as well as specialized nurses.

“I am comfortable in saying that, right now, each (BC Cancer Agency) site is being served with the sufficient number of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurse practitioners ... and any combination of this because our goal is to make sure that a community is sufficiently staffed,” he said.

Katakkar was recruited in January 2011 to work at the $100-million Centre for the North, which opened in November 2012.

The centre serves patients who live north of Quesnel and west to the Alberta border.

Cancer care in Prince George became an issue after the cancer agency released a report that was highly critical of Katakkar’s patient care.

According to the report, Katakkar, an American oncologist hired to staff the Centre for the North when it opened, misdiagnosed or used incorrect methods to treat dozens of cancer patients while he was employed in Prince George as a medical oncologist from Jan. 24, 2011 to June 12, 2012.

It found that 54 patients, about 10 per cent of Katakkar’s total caseload, received treatment that either did not meet standards used by oncologists around the country or was not supported by medical evidence anywhere in the world.

Eight of the 54 cases may have resulted in “severe” and “preventable harm,” such as more or worse side-effects than usual and, potentially, failing to prevent the cancer from returning, the review found.

The most serious cases involved four patients who died sooner than expected.

Last May, the BC Cancer Agency moved to suspend the doctor after learning he’d used controversial and unapproved cancer-fighting methods to treat a young patient who was in the final stages of terminal gastric cancer.

The agency’s concerns over the doctor’s unorthodox treatment methods in that case triggered a review of hundreds of Katakkar’s patient files.

Katakkar has denied the agency’s findings.

In an email to The Sun, Katakkar declined further comment, noting the matter is in the hands of legal counsel in Vancouver.

“I have no comments other than I am innocent,” he said.

Since leaving Prince George, Katakkar has moved back to the United States.

Dr. Suresh Katakkar has denied findings by the BC Cancer Agency that he misdiagnosed or used incorrect methods to treat dozens of cancer patients while he was employed in Prince George as a medical oncologist. He said in an email that the matter is in the hands of legal counsel and that he is innocent.

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